Alecia Beckford Stewart - Track and Field / Bobsleigh

This is episode 111 of the Empowered Athlete Podcast. Today's guest on the Empowered Athlete podcast is an athlete. 200 meter runner, 800 meter runner, 100 meter runner, 100 meter hurdles, high jump, long jump, triple jump, shot put, javelin, heptathlon, of course. Pentathlon, of course. 60 meter hurdles. Oh, yeah, and bobsleigh. Alicia Beckford Stewart is our guest. She's an incredible human being. She's in chiropractic school. We caught up to her with her while she's in California. We talk sport, we talk training, talk workouts, talk a whole bunch of things. You're gonna love her insight, her opinions, and her thoughts on everything that's going on in the world right now, the world of sport, and her tremendous story. We hope you love this edition of the Empowered Podcast.

Welcome to the Empowered Athlete Podcast, created to support athletes in their pursuit of excellence and inspire others toward their best lives. Hosted by Kari Schneider, coach to top performers in sport and life, and Paul Durden, former national and professional volleyball player.

Hey, hey, we're back. The Empowered Athlete Podcast. Paul, Kari and Alicia Beckford Stewart, otherwise known as from California. We got Bex on the line. How are you doing?

I'm doing well. How are you guys today?

Do you not have an Instagram that says Flex by Becks?

I do. I also have Flex by becks and Becky Stew 87. That's me.

Cannot let go of the Flex by Becks.

It will stay with me forever.

You have to hang on to that one. How are you?

I'm good. Yeah. I mean, all things considered, I am happy that the sun is still shining and I get to wake up every day and just strive for whatever goal the day brings for me.

Okay, well, speaking of goals, you are someone that, over the time that we've known you, you've always had incredible, real reaching and striving goals. You know, when we first got to know you, you were a heptathlete at the time, and just this high performing, hard driving, you know, enthusiastic, amazing individual, which we were obviously drawn to. But at the same time, you had national goals that you were pursuing in heptathlon and injury came your way. But prior to that, what really sparked that flame, that desire, that wanting to keep pursuing, because that was just the middle of the road. You've done all kinds of things that you've been pursuing, which we'll get to. But what kind of sparked it? Was it gymnastics as a youth? What was the thing?

I would definitely say just kind of starting my athletic journey when I was three, like you said, gymnastics. But it was even before that. I just, I always wanted to do what the big kids were doing. I wanted to be involved what they were kind of doing. And it was just like, if they can do it, I want to try. And I lived in. So my mom is from a very large family. She is the youngest of 20 kids. And the house that I grew up in there was always at least two aunts, an uncle, and then their kids. So just grew up in this atmosphere that I didn't even realize how much older my cousins were than me until I was in my 20s, realizing they were 10 years older than me. So for me, you know, chasing after them, it's like this annoying little girl. But I'm thinking like, it's just my cousin. But it's like, no, this is an 8 year old chasing around an 18 year old. Like, they don't want to play, they don't want to play sports with me. Like, they're just like, go away, go do your thing. So sports gave me that outlet of I get to play and compete and be around other people that are striving for something. And I've been really fortunate to have amazing coaches along the way. And I definitely have always just had someone that. Well, my mom for sure, like number one, biggest fan, first coach of everything and anything. But I've always had individuals in my corner that were striving for something and they instilled that in me. So I will never forget the very first time I had to do a goal setting exercise at gymnastics. And they sat us all down and they were like, okay, I want everyone. It was our first like one week sleepover camp and they had us sleep in the gym back when.

Sleep.

Exactly. So exciting. Like your first sleepover. Like, oh my gosh, we don't get to just be here for an hour. Like we get to stay the night. And they had us do this exercise where you had to write down two goals for the weekend. So we were going to be competing and they're like, we don't want your goals to be, I want to get a perfect score on beam or I want to stick the landing on my hard dismount. They wanted just other goals, but they didn't really give you any idea of what that should look like. So I remember us sitting there and people were just like trying to whisper to each other, like, what are our goals supposed to look like? If it's not based on the performance, like, what is it supposed to be? So then they kind of gave us A little leeway. And they said, okay, one goal can be performance, but the other has to be something else. Mind you, we're like eight, nine years old, so, like, this is a big task. And they ended up bringing me up to the front as the example because my two goals were this. I was having a hard time sticking my cartwheel on the beam. So my goal was to stick the cartwheel on the beam for sure. But my other goal was to make a friend that didn't go to our gym at that competition. And they were like, these are the things that sports are supposed to do for you. It's supposed to give you this outlet of athletic prowess or ability to shine and. And, you know, be competitive and compete against these individuals. But the moment that you stick the landing, these are also people. And you want to be able to learn who your competitors are. And the only way you can be the best is if you beat the best. But if you don't really know who these individuals are, it's just like another number, another person. So I think that drive of just striving for the very objective things like stick, you know, stick a skill, get a certain score. But then being in a very subjective sport, I could, you know, jump the highest or run the furthest or whatever. But if that judge wasn't looking for, that doesn't really matter. So it was nice to just have, you know, some objective things to look at, but then very subjective things. So it's like, wow, I just feel so good about myself because I did what I set out to do and I made a friend.

This is huge, I think, because at such a young age, that really stuck with you. And I know I've been lucky enough to witness you impart wisdom like this. Maybe not the exact thing, but wisdom like this to young athletes when you're coaching young athletes. And at the same time, have you fallen into that kind of rut or trap of forgetting that it's not just about the achievement? It's not just because even though that. Even though it's been with you a really long time, for those of us who have been competitive or are competitive, it's just like sometimes you forget, well, it's only this. And if I don't get this, then it's just devastating, you know, has that shown up for you? Or did it when you were shows.

Up all the time? All the time? Like, I. I am my biggest fan, but I'm also my biggest critic. So it's like, I will, you know, write these things down and say, okay, accomplish this and do this and if you've done this, it is good enough. But sometimes I have to think back and it's like, just because it wasn't the end goal thing that I wanted doesn't mean that someone else isn't looking at that and going, you've done so many things. And I'm sitting there like, yeah, but it wasn't the Olympics, it wasn't the gold, it wasn't, you know, the 400 pound. Like, it wasn't the end thing that I, you know, was looking to accomplish. So then it's not enough. And I have to like, really check myself with that self talk of saying, like, I don't want to compare myself to what other people are doing. I'm comparing myself to myself, but I have to be nice to myself and I have to give myself the ability to breathe and be able to say like, you're doing great. Enjoy the progress in the process and take the big goal, break it down into smaller pieces. And if you've accomplished something, enjoy that moment and celebrate the moment instead of just saying, well, it's not enough because it wasn't the end. So definitely, you know, it's a process for sure, of kind of checking myself of the advice that I'm able to give and then giving that back to myself and following through with it. Because only I can hear the voice in my head and no one else hears it. So that's definitely been something that, like, doesn't matter whether it's in school or in athletics, in coaching and just in life, being able to bring it back to, you know, that friendship goal instead of the outcome goal every single time.

Do you feel like that held true for you on the track where I have the impression that track athletes need to have a very high level of self confidence, almost ego, if you will, to be lining up against seven other athletes and being in the mindset of, I'm going to win this thing, I'm going to dominate. Because to be, you know, peak, to be fully on, you have to be believing in yourself. Even though, I mean, it's great to have the.

I'm here to make friends too.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah.

When it comes down to the coach.

And I'm here to kick your ass first.

Right.

Exactly.

You had to bring or sharpen your edge at certain times and then pull.

It back every single time. So one thing, I guess one of my coaches, I can still think about the fact that, so he did the decathlon and obviously women do the heptathlon. And one thing that he would instill in me is that one event. Is that event, like when you step to the line, you're going to accomplish that task, and then you kind of wear different hats, right? So right now, boom, you are a hurdler, and that is what you do. You're not focusing on what's next. You're not focusing on what happened before after. You're focusing on one hurdle at a time. And in that moment, the same kind of thing, you're not focused on who's to your left or you're to your right. You're trying to get to where you need to go. So. So there's. Because it's not a contact sport, you don't have to worry about, like, who am I going to step over to get there. It's just, what time am I going to get at that finish line to beat myself from practice or whatever it is. But it's literally one foot in front of the other, bring the aggression every single time. So it was kind of more so putting the blinders on to the task at hand instead of saying, like, I'm going to eat these girls alive. But you had to have that mentality of, I prepared myself to be here and no holds bar. You're just going to go after whatever it is that you're going to do. So that's one of the things that I really liked about the heptathlon, because I got to be a little, you know, a jack of all trades or a Jill of all trades kind of a thing, and express that aggression in different kind of ways, or the performance without it being kind of a direct attack on someone else's performance. I didn't win because you didn't do well. I won because I won or I didn't jump as high as 1 meter 72. It wasn't because you only jumped 170. It's just. You jump 170. I jumped 172. That's just what it was.

Clean.

Exactly.

And it's hard when you're looking at sports that. I mean, we could go on and on about sports, that it should be clean. There is a timeline, there is a. And then they met the qualification and then they still don't get sent. You know, those are. You know, there's so many heartbreaking stories around that because, you know, you think it's supposed to be that. But I have a question here that I think this might be pertinent to some of our listeners in that you went. You were in gymnastics, you got into track, but somewhere along that way you had the goal, I think, tell me if I'm wrong here on this, this timeline or this path, you had the goal to get a scholarship. You wanted to go to school with a scholarship. Did you get a full. A full scholarship?

Yeah. So I found out.

Huge deal.

Yeah.

And because school is expensive anywhere, it's extra expensive to go out of state if you're in the US and then at the same time, to be able to be competing in something that you love and competing and get your education paid for. That's something that we haven't talked a lot about on this podcast. And that's such a huge accomplishment, number one. But how did you realize that this was a possibility and what did you do to make that reality?

Yeah, so that was actually, if anything, that was probably one of the, I look back now, one of the proudest things that I accomplished for myself, because that was a goal that I had set very early on in probably middle school when I found out that I could get a scholarship for my education while I was doing my sport. So when I got closer to the end of my high school career, it was like actually in grade nine, they had rule. I don't even know what it was called, but teachers were basically on strike, so they weren't doing any. Anything extracurricular. So I didn't have offset. I didn't have any sports in grade nine. And I actually considered leaving that high school to go to another high school so I could continue doing sports because I knew if I was going to try to get a scholarship, they had to see me perform.

That's a grade nine. Okay, so here, this is important because there are lots of kids out there, number one, who aren't competitive enough to consider this. But number two, are not. Considering the costs of university is part of the factor here. And do you think is part of the factor the cost, thinking that, okay, maybe me or maybe my family were not going to be able to pay for this or. And do you think that if that was the case, that that drove some of the competitive nature in you as well?

Like a little bit of column A, a little bit of column B? My parents support me in things that I do, and financially, as a kid, I didn't want for anything, but I had no idea what their financial situation was. I just knew that things were expensive. I understood the value of money and I didn't take it for granted. But I never considered how I would pay for school because I was gonna get a scholarship like it was. It was just so ingrained in My head that that is something that I wanted.

And when I even was there, an example of someone. Yeah, okay.

So when I was 12, so my mentor, Patrick Russell, he was also my coach, but we kind of just trained together with who his coach was at the time. And he decided to stay in Canada and he went to York University. And part of that was he didn't figure out the recruiting process. This kind of ages me or dates me or whatever. But think about the Internet access that individuals have now is not what I had in high school. Like, I remember the World Wide Web in grade three and, you know, you know, going to that one room that had computers. And for him, same kind of thing. Like, when he was in high school, if he wanted to reach out to schools, it was snail mail. It was sending in a VHS of what he was doing, and the editing was choppy. And please don't rewind and send it back because I need to send this to another school kind of scenario. For me, it was. It was CDs and DVDs, but still that same kind of thing. I didn't have that access to be able to say, let me, Let me look up somebody. It was like, I have to really search out for this information. And so for him, it was just a bit harder to figure out, how is he going to get to the States? How is he going to get, you know, this Disney Saturday morning movie of, you know, the marching bands and the scholarships and everyone's cheering for you and you cross the finish line. There's flowers, there's confetti. Like, that was not in Canada. Sports, like, that's just not what we see. We barely have people in the stands. We're working on it. Like, we're working on it, but it's like, I thought that's what it was going to be when I got closer to the end of high school. But seeing what he went through, I was like, so it's not like that. Like, where are the scholarships? Where are. Here's your car and like, come to the dorms and all this stuff. But I was like, how come it's not happening for you?

I want it schools. And then you can pick which one.

Exactly. So in grade nine, like, when I realized I wasn't going to have sports at my school, I considered it. But I was also in French immersion, so it was really important for me to keep my French. I'd worked so hard from kindergarten all the way up, so I stuck it out. I still just, you know, focused on all my, you know, track outside of School, because that's where, from a Canadian standpoint, that's just where you're going to get your skills. You have a math teacher or science teacher that's, you know, the coach at school. Whereas in the States, they hire a coach for the track team, for the basketball team, for the. They hire someone for that. And so when I kind of realized that, it was like I still just cared more about being a student first, athlete second. So I stuck, you know, in my school, kept. Kept on with. With my French education. And then the next year, we did get a teacher that was willing to volunteer, and I was actually the assistant coach. And that's how it just was in high school.

Yeah.

Exactly. And it was just because I wanted. Just. I just needed a faculty to be able to say, they'll come to register us for track meet. So they'll come, you know, be able to bring other athletes with. Exactly. Just. That was just what it needed to be. So seeing kind of what my coach went through and then seeing what I really wanted, some of it was a fairy tale. It was a movie. Like, I really expected it to be where they were gonna look for me. But that was not the case. When I got into grade 12, I had to do a victory lap, so to speak. I went back for a grade 13 because I still didn't figure out the scholarship process. It's not that my grades weren't there. It's just that I didn't know how to get into the States. So did my research. I made an athletic resume. Basically, these are the events that I do. These are the times that I run these. This is what I throw. This is what I jump. This is my SAT score. So I kind of sought out a separate system. I went and took my SATs. I went to the guidance counselor. I asked her, how can we figure out what my GPA is on a 4.0 scale? Because we don't use that scale. And the rude awakening that a 90 and above is an A in the states, an 80 and above is an A in Canada. So figuring out my gpa and then I just sent that to schools. I looked at the NCAA and I said, these are the top 10 girls at NCAA's in the heptathlon. This is where I kind of fall, and I'm in high school. These are my grades. If you're interested, call me. And I got calls. And I did. And I was able to go through the process of the Clearinghouse and taking my five visits to schools and making a choice of where I really wanted to go. And again, I look back and I think because I had set the goal, I didn't make a big deal about it because it was just like, it wasn't if it was when. And again, that was a coach that instilled that in me. It's not if you do well when you go to that thing, it's when you do well. What do we do next? And that came from when I started tracking and I was doing gymnastics. I was a bit taller than some individuals that are typically going to be elite at gymnastics. I went through puberty a little bit early, and I had a Grossberg in grade four. And I was a very tall gymnast for what they considered to be elite. And they kind of nudged me towards track a little bit more at the time. And I was mad about it because I'm like, I'm a gymnast. I'm gonna be the next Dominique Dawes. Like. Like, this is what's going to happen. Stacey Uman, like, she told me that I'm going to be great and Black Girl Magic and this is going to be so good. And they were just like, but, like, you're so fast and like, you know, you jump so high. And I'm like, yeah, but for Vol, I have to run fast and I have to jump high. Like, I'm trying to justify it. Like, why are you pushing me away? But it was so great. And my coach, he would say to me, he's like, listen, going to miss practice, to go to a track meet, you have to come home with hardware. And that was always just something that really stuck with me, good or bad, because it was a little bit of pressure, because if I didn't get any hardware, I'm coming back. Like, I'm sorry, Peter. I didn't, you know. But it also just gave me that drive of, like, if you're going to do something, you do it wholeheartedly instead of tiptoeing into it. And I've taken that into everything that I've done. And even when I moved to London and when I met you guys, it was that same kind of thing. And when I started to kind of shift away from that, a bit of it is part of injury and just the depression that you go through when your identity is wrapped up in who you are as an athlete and been an athlete since I was three. And when I tore my ACL and I had to get surgery, I was like, who am I if I am not an athlete? If I am not Alicia Beckford Stewart, the athlete, who am I? And you guys really helped me. I don't know how much, you know, like, how much you really helped me, like, kind of really bring that back to I am a person. I am Alicia Beckford Stewart through and through. And the athlete is just one of the hats that I wear. It's a part of my journey and a part of who I am, but it is not who I am.

I.

And yeah, I just. So I kind of broke those things down to just it being a part of my motivation and all the other things that I'm doing and not just the only motivation of why I'm doing it.

Okay, so I want to ask a question for both of you here. We see you're a certified strength conditioning specialist. You train, you know that world. It's a male dominated field.

Absolutely.

How did you first connect with Kari and when you met her or heard about her, did you have reservations because she was female?

Not at all. I was so excited. So excited. Representation matters a lot. And it's true.

Like, you're competitive, you had clear goals, and Kari's not the norm. And either of you guys are exceptional at what you do. And so it's your outliers. And I wondered just what that initial impression was or how you gained trust or how you connected so quickly, what was it?

And, well, we're both July babies, so we connected because we're like twins just a few years apart.

I remember that interview and it was just like, okay, well, there's so many things that are such a challenge to connect on in high level sport. When somebody hasn't been in high level sport, or someone doesn't know strength and conditioning, or someone hasn't gone to school in the States, or someone hasn't, you know, been trying for something national level. When you're with someone who hasn't done any of those things, it's hard to ever explain what those are. And so when, when we were going through that first meeting process, it was like just, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. On so many levels. It's like, oh, this is way too easy. You know, this is just too good to be true. Because you are the epitome of who fits as an athlete, as a coach, as a human, in the business, in the gym, in what we were running at the time. And so it was just, it was easy that way. And I mean, for me, it's. I can tell right off the hop in meeting somebody whether, because I've seen it so many times, whether or not they're busy getting through their own thoughts of what they perceive about me. And perceive about. And I'm sure you've experienced that in some form or another, somebody's preconceived judgments of what they think about you and whether or not. And there's a huge difference when that isn't in the way of, of a meeting or of a connection or of learning about another person. And so the connection happens much faster. So I've been through that so many times that I know what to expect and, you know, I know usually how to get them on track or get their trust or win them over or say the thing that has them feel comfortable or whatever. And there was so much. There was such an absence of that kind of noise between the two of us on the first time we met. So it was easy to just run with it from there. And it also allowed for a fast, not only that fast connection, but a fast progression too, which was very helpful, I think, for some of the things that you went through, because then when the trust is there, and when the trust is there fast, then you can either push harder faster, or give more responsibility faster or, or, you know, trust the person if something's gone wrong or whatever. So. And those are, those are big things when it comes to just a human connection.

Yeah, definitely. And I think, you know, to kind of touch on what Paul was saying just about us being females that are kind of the outlier sometimes you. That's exactly what you're looking for. Right. Like, so many times it was, it wasn't an option to be able to say, I'm going to have a female track coach, I'm going to have a female coach in anything that I really did. And then when I kind of think back to even just like therapists that I've worked with, massage therapists like Kairos, like almost all of them are just. They all look the same for the most part. It's not something that I necessarily paid attention to as much as an athlete. It was just who was willing to see something in me. And if I was able to connect with them. And they, they believed in me, it was like, I'm going to believe in them. And there's just certain people that you just put your trust in when you just feel that vibe right off the bat. Like, you just know when someone is being, being real with you about their intentions, on why they want to interact with you. And it, it was just like. It just felt very mutual when we had that conversation. I wanted to be as honest as possible that I was looking for a job, of course, and I wanted to keep my Mind sharp to be able to stay within the strength and conditioning field, the medical field, like, whatever it was. But I was an athlete that also needed to make money to be able to continue competing at a high level and finding that balance of flexibility in a job. Uber and Uber Eats weren't really around back then, so that probably would have been a really great.

Older and older in this.

Well, the only reason I say that is because a few years later, I did drive for Uber. So it's just like, Absolutely, yeah. So just, you know, when you think about the off season, Paul, you could talk about this too. Like, when you're in the off season and you know that, okay, I need to recover, I need to be able to eat, and I can only get XYZ amount of sponsors. You have to find a way to hustle. And one thing that was really great about Kari is she knew the hustle because she'd been through the hustle in many different type of ways. And when you're working in a field where it is, it's client centric, it's patient centric, it's based on, are these people gonna come back here when they can go to the place across the street? And they come back because of your personality. So it's, you know, it's not a cookie cutter system, but a squat is a squat, a lunge is a lunge. But people come for the conversation, they come for the environment, and they come for personality. And so for us, I feel like that was resonating on both ends from the beginning. And it was just like, okay, another box is checked that it's a female. Another box is checked that she's a mother. So if I have questions about how do you balance, you know, all the other hats? Typically, a man can't answer those questions because he didn't have to take the time off, you know, or maybe he did. You know, he could have taken paternity leave and things like that. But that flexibility of saying, okay, how do I balance this and be able to do that. So at that stage in my life, that's what I was looking for. I wanted to be able to have a mentor. I wanted to be able to have those harder conversations that you can't just look up on Google.

Yeah, it's true. And yeah, yeah. So you. At that time, I know at that time, there was. There was so much you went through in terms of your Achilles, but also, you know, you had opportunities and you were looking towards things that probably expanded so much more as you, you know, how you try A little bit of something and then you see a little more and then you try something else. You were interested in medical school at the time. Tell us a little more about your decisions when it came to bobsleigh Canada, when it comes to where you currently are, because you're in the middle of chiropractic school in the US So there's so many things there that I want to know about which the climate in the US when it comes around the election, Black Lives Matter, your experience when it comes to bobsleigh Canada and what that was like. There's so much that's gone on for you. You've even just competed in a fitness competition, which is.

I did, I did.

You know, clearly you're so goal driven and I think that there's so much there. But I want our listeners to be able to understand a glimpse of what it's like in. Because this is, this is what I would call trying things on to see what fits. Not because you're trying to fit in, but because you're figuring out where you really belong and what is aligned with you. And that's what I think is happening for the course of your life. You're living it, you're eating it up, you're enjoying it, you're trying all these different things and also just figuring out where you're really going to create your best life. So tell us a little more about what brought you to bobsleigh, what those next steps look like.

So after tearing my Achilles and just kind of, kind of back that up a little bit. So after my acl, getting the surgery, getting back into track, the rehab process wasn't necessarily complete. There was just certain shortcuts that were taken. I can own up to my side of things, of, of not necessarily seeking out all the best resources initially. And also just if you don't really know the why in your process of rehabilitation, you don't do it. So it's like, why do I need to do glute meat exercises for my knee? My knees hurt. Right. I just didn't have that understanding in the moment. Just being kind of that stubborn athlete of, well, I just want to get here and you're not really giving me the steps to get there. And that's how I knew to process things. That individual that was working with me initially moved away. They started their own practice. And then after that, the individuals that kind of took me under their wing, the location where I was working, they were all chiropractors and so kind of to segue into some of the future Conversations about why I steered away from medical school was I always said that I wanted to be two things in my life and it was a doctor and an Olympian. And so that's what kind of led me towards bobsled. Once track was not necessarily no longer an option, but the ability to compete at that level without the support around me that I had when I was in undergrad and not having the financial stability as well as being able to balance life was just something that I couldn't have planned or couldn't have really prepared for anyways. I suppose I could look back and say I probably should have done xyz, but in the moment when you're trying to figure out these huge goals that you've had for yourself and they start to shatter kind of piece by piece with financial or injury or, you know, a breakup or, you know, whatever it is, those were just things that, well, this is all I know how to control. So with that incomplete kind of rehabilitation, I just ended up. Either I was going to have something wrong with my hip or something wrong with my ankle, and it just happened to be my Achilles. Tore my Achilles in 2014. And that was kind of literally a breaking point for me that I had to say, I have to slow it down. I need to completely just get myself healthy. I need to get myself to an optimal point of just, I am happy, I am comfortable with. If I don't continue with a sport, I'm going to be okay. And so that healing process was a bit of self discovery and a bit of kind of like the social, mental, physical, just everything kind of all wrapped into one. And then I remember a conversation in undergrad of one of my coaches saying, you guys are pretty fast, pretty strong. Ever heard of this movie? Like Cool Runnings? Like, you should look into bobsled. And I was like, not really into cold. Like, I know I'm Canadian, but I'm not really into cold weather sports. But maybe I'll look into it. And around that time so, you know, I'm working with you guys at Empower and just kind of, you know, still talking to my previous classmates and teammates and things like that. And one of them went out for the U.S. bobsled team and she went to the 2014 Games. She'd only been in the sport for a year and a half and she won a bronze medal. And I was this the fuel. It just sparked something in me again. I was like a second career sport. Like, that's literally what bobsled is. You have to be 16 to go into a Bobsled, anyways, so by the age of 16, you've already done so many other sports usually. So it is geared around taking whatever athletic prowess you had before turning that into just straight, raw speed, power with a little bit of crazy because of how fast you're going. And, yeah, so seeing her, talking to her about that kind of process, it just lit something inside of me that was like, yeah, I still want this. And so I just. I set that goal and again, just went after it, had the support in my corner and, you know, the little Alicia in the back of my head that's like, you're on this journey called life, to experience things, not just to go through things. It's like, I want to be able to look back and say, I enjoyed all the things that I did. And it is, you know, a good story for me to reminisce on and, you know, to look back at the places that I got to see, the places that I got, the people that I got to meet. And so that was kind of that initial striking moment of, okay, I'm going to look towards how do I join this team, how do I get onto the national team, how do I potentially make the Olympics? And then while I was in that process, I met or when I made the provincial team and then made the national team, and then we toured through Europe, we toured through Korea. And on that kind of last tour of the Olympic year in 2018, that's when I met three different docs that went to three different schools. And I kind of just was able to pick their brain as to where do they go to school, what was their passion, how were they able to have a practice as well as travel with the team? Like, that would be amazing. How do they balance life and just kind of having those conversations and, you know, they're more than willing to kind of pay it forward. So same kind of energy as myself. I just want to be able to share that information with others and pay it forward. And they were paying it forward to me, and I was able to, you know, look into other options of becoming. The other thing that I want to be in life is a doctor. Never knew what kind of doctor I wanted to be. I just knew that I wanted to be a doctor. I knew that I wanted to be able to help people and have those relationships and not just a revolving door. You're in, you're out. I want it to be part of the process because everyone that's helped me, it's being a part of my process, a part of my journey. Leaving that lasting memory, I want to be able to instill that on someone else because that's had such a great impact on my life. So then that brought me to Palmer College of Chiropractic here out in California. Not too shabby being able to say, I'm living out in California and the sunshine makes me happy. So that was obviously a nice big bonus and I was ready to start school in that time of my life. In majority school you have to wait until, you know, the fall start. But I was able to get all my transcripts in and kind of get that process moving because they do have entrance every three months, whereas CMCC in Toronto only has admittance one time a year. So I didn't want to kind of sit around and wait for an entire year being part of evidence based practice, making sure that the science is behind it. It's not just a non accredited school somewhere, it's the leading school in the country. And sometimes there's kind of that stigma in Canada that it's like if you leave and go somewhere else that you're not getting as good of an education. But I think you get out of anything whatever you put into it. If you're gonna go and work with, you know, an online trainer, work with, you know, a dentist at some little shop at the back of a plaza, it's whatever they put into their education. It doesn't matter what the package on the outside necessarily looks like. They're willing to instill the great values, give you the proper steps and procedures and making sure that they're up to date with everything. That's what really matters. So that's how I kind of saw my journey of looking at what schools I wanted to go to. If I want to go left, I can go left. They provide all these resources and it's just a matter of what I take from it. So it's been great so far.

Do you find chiropractic practicing more mainstream in Canada than it is in the us? Because I found that a few years ago, but I don't know that it's the same now per se. So what's your take on it?

I would say just the language used around chiropractic care is very different in Canada versus States. Here you'll hear individuals talk more about a cash based practice versus insurance based practice. We don't have as many conversations about health care at home because we have this universal health care. So it's kind of instinctive, instinctively known that if you are going to go see a chirophysio massage it is based on your benefits that you are going to pay out of pocket and you might get some reimbursement. But you know that if that's the care that you're willing to seek out and if that's what you need, there's not kind of that question mark of oh, I have to pay for this first. Whereas here there's that conversation that kind of lies around oh well, my benefits only provide 10 visits, so I'll go for 10 visits and then I don't go back. Or someone has a cash practice and they know that they're not seeing any of the Medicares and still learning all the different coding and the different Kaiser Permanentes and all these kind of things. But yeah, I think the conversation is just a little bit different in Canada. I would definitely say that it's a bit more mainstream and there is more conversations around what chiropractic care is at younger stages of individuals lives. So it's not as much of a question mark when they get into adulthood or even treatment. Exactly, exactly. They know that that's an option of treatment Here we're still kind of bringing that conversation or at least attempting to bring that conversation up a little bit higher in or lower in the hierarchy, should I say? So that it's not this like what is chiropractic kind of thing. It's more like oh yeah, absolutely, I've.

Seen in Cairo and would you, I mean this may be too early to know this but would you consider practicing in the US or is it. Do you have your site? I mean you're very goal driven person. Do you have your sights set on Canada or the U.S. or what does that look like?

Still very open. I'm just now entering into student clinic and I now have to start narrowing in on those kind of conversations a little bit more. I would love to stay in the States for a little bit longer just for the experience, the exposure as well as the reality is I am at an American school, so I have American sized debt, so it would be nice to make some American sized dollars as well. So that is definitely part of the consideration. But I'm not in it for the money. I'm in it for the experience that I'm going to gain and get. So ideally I am planning for staying in the States upon graduation, but I have to consider the visa situation, I have to consider sponsorship situation and also just like cost of living right off the bat is just things that I have to kind of wrap my head around and consider. But it's definitely an option for both.

And I mean, whether the earning potential is greater in Canada or the U.S. i don't know. But, and here's the thing. So many people will say, I'm not in it for the money. Just like you said, I'm not in it for the money. And I don't think anyone who has a real strong passion and strong drive, they're not going into it for the money. They're going into it because they love the thing. But at the same time, there's nothing wrong with wanting to earn as much as your full potential is and to embrace that. Because so many people think that, well, if you make a lot of money, then you're not fully in it for the love of it or the whatever, but it's not that at all. You can be completely passionate about what you do and earn as much as you possibly can, because typically all that's going to mean is that you can help more people in some form or another, do more, give back more, contribute more, whatever way that looks like. So, yeah, like, earn as much as you possibly can. I know you will give it back to the world. When it comes to the racial climate around the US I have, you know, I have family in Florida, Kentucky, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Chicago, all over the place. And there's, you know, with COVID and so many eruptions in terms of Black Lives Matter, in terms of just this awful, awful, horrific things happening when it comes to policing and things that are being exposed that have been going on for a very long time, however, just weren't being brought to light and being shown to everyone in a way until it just has exploded. How has that been being there versus. Would the experience be different for you if you had been in Canada versus being in the States throughout everything that's been going on, what has all that been like for you?

I think it's definitely highlighted more here. Doesn't mean that there's not racism in Canada. Doesn't mean that I haven't faced my fair share of discrimination, my fair share of heartbreak of someone just assuming something of me based on maybe their previous experience, maybe based on something that they were taught. Because racism is not something that you're born with. It is something that you are taught. And I have kept myself involved as much as I possibly can with the knowledge that I have. But my experience is not the same as someone that grew up in the States as well. So that's also something that I keep in mind that someone that grew up in Oakland, and for me growing up in Brampton, my experience is not going to be the same. But it doesn't negate that I can't support. It doesn't negate the fact that I can't relate as well. One thing that I was able to kind of convey to my classmates and kind of the school is I'm the president of our student American Black Chiropractic association here in. As well as the west region representative. And I led us in a town hall after George Floyd's murder and kind of explained to them why we're hurting. Because in a school of 450 students, there are eight black students and two of them our faculty. So I'm not eight black individuals. Let's just say that there are other visual minorities, but some people just didn't quite understand. They would say certain ignorant things like, but you don't know him personally. You don't have to know someone personally to feel the pain of what has happened, to feel the injustice of what is going on around you. And it starts to cave in when you are then the one black friend that they feel comfortable coming to about certain very difficult conversations. It's not necessarily a bad thing that it's like you feel comfortable enough to come and ask certain questions, but it is not my responsibility that I need to teach you every little thing. So we were able to lead a town hall and kind of just explain the gravity of the situation, that it's not a matter of knowing the person directly. It's a matter of that could have been our brother, our father, our sister. It could have been us. And that's something that they don't leave their house understanding that fear. And. Yeah, in. In my experience and in my upbringing, did I grow up around a lot of violence? No, not necessarily. But did I have my own separate adversities? Absolutely. So it's something that just shines through for you in the back of your mind that this might not be the exact situation that I face, but I've been driving and I see the lights and I'm scared. Even though I did nothing. I'm, you know, walking somewhere and I hear a certain sound. And for me, it's. It's a fight or flight of a certain reaction that someone else might not. Might not feel or see as a reality for them. So if I was in Canada while all this was happening, would I have been as affected? Maybe not. But being in it, just being directly around and the Internet alone, just. I had to plug out, like, absolutely. Check out certain days because it was draining, like, completely. Like adrenal dump, just draining. Plus, Being in school. Plus plus plus plus. There's always going to be a plus. But going to a protest or going to a rally or just having conversations with individuals that were difficult was also empowering because this is the time for everything to be highlighted. Unfortunately, it just. It's not that it wasn't happening before. It's just now being seen more frequently. And I am grateful for the fact that I was able to kind of work through that, but also have the language to be able to work through it. Because when I was younger and I had my first experience with racism, I didn't know why it hurt. I just knew that it hurt. And now I just have a better understanding as to why it hurts. And I can express why it hurts, and I can share that with someone else. Why you saying, can I touch your hair? Is hurtful for me. For you saying, hey, look, I got tan today. I'm as dark as you. Why that's hurtful for me.

And.

Now we just have this platform, this opportunity to express that to other individuals and not shy away from the awkward conversations because magic happens in that uncomfortable zone. And the only way that other individuals are going to know that that commentary is not okay is if we tell them that looking at someone when they pass you on the street and clutching your bag, that hurts. That hurts. And maybe it's a movie that you saw and you just thought, oh, well, I see some black person coming towards me, they could be dangerous. Well, I could say the same thing about anybody, but I don't, because I know how that impacts another individual. So being directly in it has just been a very interesting. An interesting experience. I wouldn't say I can speak for how much it's really going to change now that the election is over, because there's still that leeway time before inauguration in January. So there's a lot of things that can happen between now and the end of 2020. But 2020 has just been the most interesting, adventurous, unforgettable, just unforgettable year with so many ups, so many downs, and everything in between that it's just a matter of living through whatever or growing through whatever you're living through right now. So I am just, like, checking that off as just something else that I've had. I don't want to say the fortunate opportunity to experience, but more so being an adult and being able to work through my feelings and express what those feelings are instead of bottling them up as they are constantly coming towards me from so many different angles.

And also, you know, being like you say being an adult, that if this was 10 years ago, what would it be like processing it then? How do you process it at that point? Like, we've intentionally had Maeve in a school that is very multicultural, very diverse. And we also want to bring her to somewhere like Mexico and spend maybe a school year. So she's just in again, just multicultural types of scenarios. And at the same time, I think that there's a responsibility for people to learn beyond what their own experience is in some forms. But whether people choose to or not, that's where they are. So for instance, whether it's learning about other religions or learning. One of my, one of my good friends and she's very like, she's red hair, pale skin, she got, she went out and got a book so that she could educate herself. Because it's so. I think the book was called White Supremacy and Me and just so she could educate herself to understand what is so ingrained that we can't. It's beyond our perception because we've only seen one way, you know. And when I say we, I just mean anybody looking at something that they don't understand or have never experienced. So anybody looking at it, whether it's another religion, another culture, another language, any of those things, but just being able to ask more questions from a place of love and curiosity versus a place of different or a place of better than or worse than or a place of from that way. So I really appreciate your just honest take on it because you've been in so many different realms, different types of different space sports, different schooling environments, different countries. And the reason your opinion on this mattered to me, I'll say us in a way, is that because you're not coming from it from one angle, you're not coming from it just from a black white angle, Canada, US angle, you have more of a diverse experience, experience around different areas, different geographic areas, different human areas, different schooling areas. And I think that that lends to just a different understanding. And so that's what. That's where we really appreciate your take on things. So in this next. In this, if we're going to kind of round things up and wrap things up. You competed in a fitness competition in 2020, Covid. All the things that have been going on. Was this planned before COVID was this. Because I know that you there was shutdown and like your goal oriented. But what brought this on?

So in January, I. I mean I've always kind of had. I don't like to call it a bucket list because that makes it sound like I'm gonna kick the bucket. It's not that it's just a life list. It's just things that I want to do. And I remember watching, like, TSN and seeing these, like, fitness shows and, you know, my mom with her Suzanne Somers, like, videotapes and all those kind of things. It's just like, oh, that's just so cool. Just so fun. Thigh Master and the Stair Stepper. She's still has it. She still has both, actually, which is hilarious. And so I was like, you know what? I think I should train for a show. Like, while I'm in school. I'm so focused on my studies, but my outlet is going to exercise. My outlet is physicality. It helps my brain stay clear. It is something that I have 100% control over. If I am stressed for some whatever for some people. And for me, I would like to go towards food, but I had to also just, like, manage that because I do just have this external goal of I want to be the billboard of the things that I'm preaching. So I can't tell someone, don't people, what's possible. Exactly.

But, like, the example.

Exactly. And I don't want to preach something that I wouldn't do for myself. So it's like, oh, you need to find better stress management skills. And it's like I'm sitting there eating a bag of chips. So I just kind of set the goal in January, and the plan was to give myself four months to kind of get into something. The first show that was going to be available was going to be May. Everything got shut down. But I was in the process. I, at that point had lost 20 pounds. I had done my due diligence of even though the gym shut down. I had about nine weeks of my prep that were all home workouts, going for my morning cardio, just walking outside for an hour, and I'm like, I'm so sad that this is not happening. So my friends kind of threw me a pretend show in their living room just on zoom. Whoever I sent the link to, my coach just kind of guided me through it. And that was my first time on stage. And. And it was cool. It was fine. But I was like, okay, before 2020 is over, I am doing this. I am stepping on a stage. And I was like, at this point, I've done the quarantine 15, but the reverse, I'm now down 25 pounds. And I was ready for it. So found a show that was actually gonna be taking place, Got a matching mask. We Followed all the protocols. They actually made the show outside. Actually, the show that I was supposed to do also got canceled, but there was another show the week after, so we just moved my peak week, went through the whole process, kind of one week additional. And, yeah, it was such a different experience, like coming from a sport, any other sport, it's like, this is like glorified modeling. And that's how my mom described it. My mom was like, it was so exciting. Cheering for you was just like, oh, just strutting your stuff on stage. And I'm just like, yeah, I guess. But I just. I wanted something other than I'm just going to go work out today. And I wanted to be able to see if I could do it. I saw myself as a very fit person and I was just like. Then when I saw a transformation myself, I was like, wow. Like, the power of thinking. Certain things, like track, they teach you this whole carb load before your competition and you just need to pack in your carbs after these workouts.

And opposite, Complete opposite.

I was like, I was able to perform. I was still able to be extremely strong, extremely focused, without as many calories as I thought I needed. And so that just this process, I didn't think it would because I used to think, oh, those people are crazy that do this bodybuilding thing. They don't eat anything, they just drink protein shakes and just like water load. And I just had not really looked into the whole process and figured out what it really was. And there's also different ways of doing the same thing. And I just gave myself that leeway of, yeah, was I hungry? Absolutely. Because I was used to eating more. Was there times when the temptation was very grand and I didn't think that I could continue, you know, being on restricted calories? Absolutely. But that's what anyone goes through when they go through any transformation, any kind of, any challenge. So that was really cool going in and competing. And the feedback from the judges was really funny for the fact that I won my open category, but I came fourth in the true novice category. And true novice means first time stepping on stage ever. And they said I looked too good to be a true novice. I was like, well, I've been an athlete since I was 3, so I guess I'm not a true. I don't know. But anyways, in the sport itself, it was great. I've now decided I will probably do another show that is kind of in the works. But for the rest of 2020, I have a goal of deadlifting 400 pounds. So stay tuned for that.

Where are we at right now?

So right now my max is 365.

Okay. So you got a ways to go, but you got lots of time still, too.

Yeah.

November, you got. Yeah. So you got to be like. Yeah, there's the countdown.

Well, I want to know what the first meal was after the competition that you had.

Pizza.

Yeah.

Okay. And what kind of pizza?

I just had a barbecue chicken pizza and some cheese, garlic bread, mozzarella cheese. So I wasn't able to have dairy for three months, and I just missed it so much. And chips. So the very, very first thing that I had was some sour cream and. Sour cream and cheddar lay's chips.

What's it like at the competition, after the competition? Is everyone offstage just mowing crap?

Is that, like, the people.

Like, as soon as it's done, like, as soon as you step down from the stage, are people just grabbing bags of chips?

Donuts, donuts, cookies. Donuts, cookies. Yes.

Everybody starts popping up like the Michelin.

Yeah. Like, I actually. It was funny because by the time the pizza got there, like, I had some appetizers, and I was like, I'm so full, but I just want to eat this so bad. And so that. That pizza lasted a few days for me because it was just like, I can't handle all this.

I was gonna say. Were you. Were you just like, you know, you think you want a whole bag of chips, but you can only handle about five?

Yes, exactly. Exactly that.

Oh, it's so rich.

It's just.

So that's what happens to me when I go for a month with no sweets. I'm just like, how could I tolerate this much chocolate? It's just not right.

Exactly. That's exactly how I felt. And even now, like, so I'm still kind of. I'm in just like a maintenance phase because the plan is to compete again in July to go for my pro card, and now it's just like, I don't necessarily need to be as strict with counting, but there's a certain level of just. Why would I gorge on anything? Because I don't need to. I just don't need to do it.

There's a big difference when people are. If there's deprivation or restriction from a place of self love, then it's a healthy thing. If there's deprivation and restriction from a place of self loathing, then it becomes dysfunctional, becomes awful. But if it's come from a place of self love, and then you. You finish whatever the week is or the month or the competition or whatever, you come away with a stronger mindset and a more powerful ability to manage your mind because that, that's what it ends up being about. It's got nothing to do with the food. All about the mind. So yeah, then it's powerful.

And that was also one of the reasons of doing this, because one of my stress kind of management goals. Oh, so many goals. But one of my stress management, one of my goals was just to find a different outlet, just to not make it come from a place of hate, not make it come from a place of negative self talk. I did my daily affirmations while I was doing it. And one of them was, today I'm walking boldly in the direction of my dreams. And I would say that to myself every single day. And so if I would walk into the pantry, which I would just open it because it doesn't cost me any money to open the pantry, but it costs me to open the fridge. But I would open my pantry and I would say to myself, like, okay, today I'm walking in the direction of my dreams. Is it in this bag of chips? No, walk away. It is not at the bottom of this bag. It is not here. But it might be if it's just a cup and then I track it and then it's fine. Right?

Well, that's the difference between, that's the difference between a pre made decision where you've planned in and you're using your prefrontal cortex, you've planned in that cup of chips versus the thing that you totally wasn't in the plan. Big difference.

Big difference.

Oh, I love it. See, normally we finish off with asking some favorite foods and some things like that, but this was way better. Oh my gosh, so much better. If there is one thing that you wanted to impart to young athletes because you've had such a vast experience in multiple sports and also at such high levels, is there anything that you would send out to a young version of you or that athlete that's just got lots of goals, lots of dreams, what kind of advice would you give? What would you want to impress?

I would definitely say enjoy the progress in your process. That would be the biggest takeaway. That or if I could tell Alicia of grade nine or Alicia of grade three, enjoy the progress of the process because celebrating the small things that to you are small because you have such great big dreams are so important and there's someone looking at you saying, well, I wish I could do just a fraction of the things that you're doing. And you're taking it for granted because some people just don't have the option to even do a fraction of the things that you're doing and just enjoying the place that you're at. Like being able to say that you traveled around Ontario, being able to say you traveled across Canada, being able to say you left the country. When I got to Illinois and meeting people that had never left their county or they were the first person to go to college in their family, I was just stunned because my mentality had always been not if it was when. And be just encouraged by your own accomplishments, be encouraged by the people that are standing in your corner. And also know that people don't just necessarily say nice things to you because they want to say nice things. They mean it. They are out to help you. People are not out to hurt you. And that would just make whatever experience that you're going through just so much more joyful. So that's probably why what I would pass on to all future athletes out there, anyone that's listening, I hope that you can pay that forward in some aspect of your life in some way, shape or form, as I plan to continue to do.

I hear some much gratitude, gratitude and all of that. And that's exactly what we have for you. So thank you for being in our lives and thank you for sharing your experiences on this podcast so that people can benefit from what you've gone through as well.

Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it so greatly.